ARMONK, N.Y.—IBM expects quantum computing to begin contributing meaningfully to the company’s financial results within the next few years and ultimately generate trillions of dollars in economic value, CEO Arvind Krishna said in an interview with CNBC.
According to CNBC, Krishna said IBM believes quantum computing will begin having a measurable effect on the company’s revenue and earnings by 2028 or 2029.
“I think that in 2028 or 2029, you’ll see it have a measurable impact on our top line and bottom line,” Krishna told CNBC. “By the end of the 2030s, we are now pretty convinced this is a trillion dollars of value.”
The ‘Quantum Advantage’
Krishna’s comments came as IBM and quantum software startup Algorithmiq announced research they said demonstrates “quantum advantage,” a milestone in which quantum computers outperform traditional computers for certain tasks.
According to IBM and Algorithmiq, the research showed quantum computers can produce trusted solutions more efficiently, less expensively or more accurately than leading classical computing methods, a benchmark long viewed as critical to the commercialization of quantum technology.
Krishna told CNBC the research enabled IBM’s quantum computer to identify material behaviors that conventional computers had been unable to model, discoveries that could eventually lead to improved battery technology, new pharmaceuticals and other scientific advances.
‘Better, Faster, Cheaper’
“A quantum computer can do things better, faster, cheaper, in a way that normal classical computers cannot do at this time,” Krishna said.
CNBC reported that while many researchers remain skeptical that quantum computing is close to widespread commercial use because of hardware and scalability challenges, Krishna said IBM is beginning to see meaningful progress toward practical applications.
IBM has continued to expand its quantum computing investments. In April, the company announced two new research hubs focused on artificial intelligence and quantum computing, including one in Illinois and another developed in partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge.
$2B in Federal Support
Weeks later, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced plans to provide approximately $2.013 billion in federal incentives to nine companies advancing quantum computing, with IBM slated to receive nearly half of the funding, CNBC reported.
The advances come as governments and technology companies increasingly warn about quantum computing’s potential impact on cybersecurity.
Earlier this year, Google researchers said quantum computers capable of breaking widely used encryption standards could emerge by 2029, significantly sooner than earlier estimates that placed the timeline closer to a decade away.
Accelerated Timeline
In a March report, Google researchers said the accelerated timeline underscores the need for organizations to begin transitioning to post-quantum cryptography, which is designed to withstand attacks from future quantum computers.
“We want to raise awareness on this issue and are providing the cryptocurrency community with recommendations to improve security and stability before this is possible, including transitioning blockchains to post-quantum cryptography (PQC), which is resistant to quantum attacks,” the researchers wrote, according to CNBC.
